GOODWIN: Shepler was one of stalwarts among Pontiac Central coaches

By MARVIN GOODWIN

Thursday, February 14, 2013

Growing up in Pontiac, Kerry Barnett didn't think of himself as an athlete. But Roger Shepler, the long time former track and field coach at Pontiac Central High School, saw in Barnett what he couldn't see in himself, and Barnett will be forever grateful.

Shepler, the longtime coach, leader and mentor, died some three weeks ago, leaving a legacy of achievement in the annals of the great athletic teams of Pontiac Central's glorious history.

Shepler coached squads which won 48 major championships, beginning in 1968 when he was named head coach of the Chiefs after spending five years as an assistant under Dean Wilson. Central won four Saginaw Valley championships -- the league was considered the toughest in the state -- eight regional championships, seven Oakland County championships and the Class A state title in 1974.

His mile relay teams won six straight titles as part of the high school division of the NCAA indoor track and field championships, which for a time were held annually at Cobo Hall in Detroit.

But all those titles began with individuals such as hurdlers Billy Mitchell, Kevin Jackson, Richard Watkins and Bill Tipton, vaulters Bobby Malone and Earl Polk, and Barnett, a budding distance runner.

All flourished under Shepler. "When I ran for him, I had no athletic training, no potential," Barnett recalled. "When everybody else said, 'you're not going to amount to anything' ... he'd say, 'you can't put limitations on yourself.' He just kept telling me. He was unbelievable."

Barnett eventually became a two-time state runnerup finisher in cross country and an all-state miler in track.

But those were tumultuous times in Pontiac when Shepler was coaching.

"As a coach, he was very unique in that ... Pontiac was a very tough place to coach," Barnett said. "There was racial turmoil when I was there (but) Roger Shepler never looked at us as a color. All he saw was potential."

Bob Kent, former girls track coach at Pontiac Central, Lee Averill, former West Bloomfield coach, the late Kermit Ambrose, and former Royal Oak Shrine coach Lou Marimonti, they all were familiar with Shepler.

Kent recalled Shepler's early days at Central as an assistant and everyone pitching in to help the track team, including the swimming coach.

"They were quite a team with Jerry Beckner, the swimming coach, Roger and Dean Wilson," Kent said. "He (Shepler) was truly a great coach. He was knowledgeable in all facets of track and field."Indeed, Shepler, who won the Class A state pole vault title while a senior at Battle Creek Lakeview in 1954, placed 10th in the decathlon at the prestigious Quantico Marine Corps Relays while at Western Michigan University, where he captained the Broncos' first Mid-American Conference championship team and won the conference long jump title with a school and meet record 23-10.

He used his knowledge in all events to produce a squad which won no events at the 1974 state meet, yet scored in eight of them to win the state title.

Shepler, who coached his sons Mark and Greg, coached until 1978 when he retired to focus attention on his daughter, Karla, who competed in the hurdles for West Bloomfield in the early 1980s.

"She made her dad smile in a way that none of us never could," Barnett said of Karla. "She worked so hard. There was something really special about the relationship she had with her dad."

Karla eventually married Barnett -- it was the second marriage for each -- and each brought their three children into the fold. Both became track and field coaches at Northville High and Shepler, the veteran, was brought out of retirement to help. Kerry and Karla recently retired to spend more time with their family.

Those who've known Shepler, who leaves his wife, Nancy, know him well.

"He had a great personality and a fine athlete himself," Kent said. "He was a wonderful family man ... great with his kids, very positive memories of everything about him."

And those memories will remain strong for Barnett.

"When Karla and I were married in 2007, the same week he and Nancy observed their 50th wedding anniversary, he asked only one thing of me ... 'please treat Karla with TLC...'. It was the most important race he ever asked me to run."